Idaho overpaid road builders millions for shoddy work. State says it won't happen anymore.

Asphalt cracks on the road in front of Idaho Transportation Department headquarters on State Street in Boise. (Audrey Dutton, Idaho Capital Sun)


Idaho has overpaid road builders for substandard work. For how long is unclear, but one estimate based on the Idaho Transportation Department’s asphalt paving budget suggests it may have overpaid $4.3 million in a single year.

The apparently deficient material remains on Idaho roads. The state has not issued penalties, required contractors to repave the roads or demanded they return bonus payments. The same contractors whose asphalt quality was suspect continue to do the state’s construction work.

State transportation officials say Idaho has worked to patch major accountability gaps that allowed the overpayments.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday signed a transportation funding bill into law that will direct $80 million annually of Idaho sales taxes to transportation. The funds would allow Idaho to issue up to $1.6 billion in bond debt to pay for Idaho road construction.

Read more: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/05/14/idaho-overpaid-road-builders/